Tag: beautify

Ok, so I’m still a woman, still the girl who would much rather not post a ‘no-makeup’ photo for the world to see, but this mascara has given me so much confidence I have to share with the world.

I am a beauty constant in a small town of upstate NY. I work with women to help them find their most beautiful version of self, just like makeup helped me!

This mascara is a new product to Mary Kay, it’s been a year since it came out and I started using it, I’m always talking about it, so I decided its time to share with you all!

Here is my before and after..

I am using three coats of mascara. ( see video of application below)

truth is, after I had a baby my lashes were so thin and everyone talked about their hair falling out, I felt like I lost my lashes. So mascara to the rescue!

The key to this mascara is the product + the wand. Application tip: Apply the mascara with long bristles first for the first coat, then apply it with the short bristles (adds product) and finish by spreading it out to the ends with the long bristles again.

If there is a lesson in every life situation, then my pregnancy situation is teaching me to let go.

If you are a control freak like me, want things a certain way, have certain expectations and have high standards, you know how hard it is to let things go, and how hard it is to delegate. Sometimes it comes with lack of trust in people to do as good of a job, sometimes its pride, and sometimes there is no good reason at all.

If you’re honest with yourself, you will admit that you have a hard time letting go.

I knew that my OCD and expectations get in the way and often make it hard for me to let go, let God, or just relax and be able to enjoy life more. There is beauty in simplicity.

Do we ever loose weight how and where we want to? Is it ever in a timeframe we want? For 99% of women out there the answer is no. That’s how I feel about gaining weight during pregnancy. It’s not how I wanted it and how much I wanted to gain, but its my body making a human, you can only love it for that.

I wanted to have all the nursery items set up and done (via my DIY super powers). It’s still not finished and I can barely decide on the stroller to buy. This is the hardest one for me to let go of, and hire the right crew to do the work that needs to be done. (thanks to my husband who isn’t allowing me to do any physical diy stuff anymore)

I wanted to look and feel amazing during the entire time, I wanted to never throw up, I wanted to have this mom thing down, but you know that’s not happening. My first trimester came as a shock when nausea wasn’t a morning sickness, it was a 24/7 occurrence without the relief, comfort or ability to even move. I couldn’t wash my hair for over a month because it made it so sea sick and dizzy, thank God there are hair dressers.

Let’s not even talk about cleaning the house when you’re carrying a basket ball in front of you. Let’s just not talk about that.

(thank God for cleaning services and options we have today to get help that way)

Let’s not talk about the pregnant women who work out and have the best looking toned arms and legs until birth. Let’s not talk about that.

Letting go doesn’t mean give up.

Letting go of my own self, my expectations for perfection, often my own needs and my physical abilities did not make me weak. In fact, I think it’s empowering.

I think that a woman finds her true beauty when she is able to embrace her imperfections and love herself anyway.

I think the world is boring if everything is cookie-cutter, laid out in a perfect pattern. AND I know for a fact, the most interesting people I have ever encountered are the ones who dared, traveled, didn’t pay attention to what others thought of them, they dreamed big and loved deep.

I want to surround myself with women who are confident regardless of their imperfections, strong, encouraging and know their value. What I learned is that women like that know how to let go and know how to empower others by delegating. In turn they are able to empower themselves to do and be the best at what they are meant to be doing.

Letting go allows you to focus on your mission, on what matters most, on developing your strength. The more things you keep in control, the more you lower the quality of the outcome.

Allow me to encourage you to let go today, free yourself from the prison of your own mind and restrictions, and focus on what really matters, on what’s really important to you.

Follow and Share if you find these thoughts helpful to you! I’d love to hear what you think!

“The sooner you start paying attention to what you say about life, your circumstances, and yes, your failures, the sooner you will break though to the next level.” – Valorie Burton

I want to be successful.

And this quote got me thinking in the past week.

More times then I want to admit to, I feel like I’m failing at everything. Failing at being a wife, a beauty consultant, a sister, a daughter, failing at being a Christ follower, at being a good friend, and these thoughts can carry me away on a daily basis. Let’s face it, it’s practically impossible to feel, and I want to emphasize FEEL, successful when your own emotions betray you and bombard you with negativity. When I’m honest with myself, I know my own shortcomings too well, I start criticizing myself and the rest isn’t a good ending to a day. I know many women who live in this cycle and struggle with the self doubt, the crippling feeling of not being enough no matter what they do, and with the reality of how hard it is to live with yourself when no one around you believes you can do it.

Knowing that so many of us struggle with such a powerful fight daily really bothers me, it shakes me to the core. Especially today. Today I had to fight, and today I feel, yes, I FEEL like I’m on the winning side. The difference? Just a choice to start changing what I speak to my mind, about myself, daily. Daily. Hourly. Whatever it takes.

I am pregnant, and just like any woman will look at another woman and compare her body to a complete stranger, I find myself comparing my pregnant body to all the other pregnant bodies I see. (I have to insert here that a lot of them are the IG perfect shaped, perfectly lit lives that sometimes feel out of touch, like really, no one has it that good.) Here is the deal though, I love my ever growing belly, I love feeling the little boy move and wake me up in the middle of the night with kicks, but it doesn’t stop me from having the thoughts of comparison. Are we programmed or simply brainwashed into comparing each other? And can’t we do something about it?

I believe so.

I believe that we should not put ourselves down. What if that super skinny girl is struggling with her health, has incredible amount of medical bills she doesn’t know how to pay for, can’t enjoy the taste of real food and after years still can’t figure out what’s wrong with her body. Doctors tell her she’s unhealthy and that she need to gain 20 lb, the exact 20 pounds of your own that you are dying to attach to her every time you see her. If you knew her battle would you really want to switch? Maybe you’d be much happier with your own struggle.

I’m just saying.

Today, in my mind the battle is won. I am glad to share my success from one day hoping to inspire you to look into your circumstances, evaluate, recalculate, analyze, have a 50 second pity party if you need to, then move on. Choose. Stand. Love yourself and accept your failure as just another day’s work but not something that defines who YOU are. When you are in the middle of that fight, choose to speak words of confidence, comfort and words of success into your own heart, and allow them to change the course of your day!

Here are 3 more things that make an incredible difference in this success and failure relationship in my opinion, as they have worked for me:

Friendships. Whom do you allow to speak into your life?

Sleeping in. This is a big one for me because I love sleeping in but often feel guilty and even more restless then I did at 6 am. So wake up early and start the day with a routine.

Positive reinforcement. Have a celebration, share your success with the people who matter when you win a battle! If it’s a super super personal one and you really can’t share it with others, then reward yourself with a date at Starbucks, a mani/pedi or a massage.

Life is too real, too short to take yourself so seriously you can’t enjoy day to day reality. So give yourself a break once in a while, laugh it off and don’t focus on trying to be perfect. Perfect is boring.

You are not perfect or boring. Embrace it.

You are worth fighting over! So fight girlfriend! And look around you, and see if there is a girlfriend next to you in need of a pick up and support.

Most of which is like an iceberg; we think, criticize, obsess over our body so much more in our thoughts then we put into words for the world to hear. I think this internal imprisonment of our true feelings of ourselves is more dangerous and damaging then lack of a healthy diet and exercise.

Now that I’m pregnant I find myself asking a new question.

Why do I love my body more now then ever before? Why am I less critical? Why I am less stressed over my appearance and weight when my belly and weight are growing more rapidly then in any other time of my life before?

Then my thoughts go to other women who have been pregnant multiple times and why do they seem, at least to me, to be more confident in their womanhood and lifestyle? Of course I am only thinking of a few examples and I know pregnancy is not an amazing experience for every mother.

Here is my take on it.

I battled with personal insecurities from my early teen years. It may have been about friends, popularity and looks at that point, then continued growing into my womanhood with deeper awareness of my own weaknesses, shortcomings and failures. Working in the beauty industry for 5 years now I learned that I am not the only one experiencing the desire to be beautiful, strong, and courageous. No matter what age we are, we long to be loved, pampered and appreciated for who we are. I worked hard to overcome my battles as a single woman and then as a wife with new challenges of being loved and cared for, AND still facing insecurities of my shortcomings.

Here is what amazes me the most. At 5 months pregnant, my body changing in ways I cannot control, and same goes for my emotions, the heaviest I’ve ever been weight wise, I feel more beautiful and appreciative of my body then ever before! There is something about the baby moving inside that challenges all the awful thoughts about body image issues and focuses in on the fact of a miracle moving inside my belly.

I am learning a new respect for this body. I am learning to trust it more, and not be so abusive to it in my mind. Sure, even at this point, I gained more pounds then some of my friends during their pregnancy, there are women on the preggo journey with me who look WAY better then I do, AND I can’t help but compare my pregnant body to another one, YET, it doesn’t change my new found love for it.

I think this is divine! I want to capture this feeling, bottle it up, and share it with you all who like myself struggled with insecurities! Please stop beating yourself up daily, hourly, constantly; please take the time to appreciate that your body functions, that it is or isn’t filled with disease, that you cant walk, that you can make a difference in how you look if you focus on it and stick with the program. Whether you have ever or will ever experience the joy of little feet kicking around your belly, I would like to encourage you to love yourself first before expecting anyone else to love you and your body.

The way you treat YOU, will show in how you expect others to treat you.

God created you a beautiful creature. It just happens that we are all difference shapes and sizes, and that’s not counting pregnant belly size. Let’s unite as women and celebrate our beauty of differences rather then compare ourselves and tear our image apart by insecurities. Because you are beautiful!

P.s. Pregnancy is a great way to boost up some self esteem and confidence. Im just saying.

Sure, you can go ahead and judge. Pregnant and still in need of caffeine! My first trimester was so rough, I could barely keep food down except bread, lost sleep, and just over all was sick all the time. Forget morning sickness in the morning, I got the worst of it at night.

One day I just couldn’t stand the smell or taste of coffee and wine. You have to know that I am a self diagnosed coffee snob, and am not afraid to admit it. This is hard!

I am so thankful for second trimester making me feel more like a human and allowing me to have food again! I am more energetic, over all I feel good on most days and I can tolerate coffee again! Whether its decaf or my indulgence of a full on cup of caffeine in the morning, its the one thing that’s making me feel like a normal human being again! And I learned that when you are pregnant, you need the things that make you feel normal!

So I thought I’d share my list of “making me feel like a human” while pregnant.

1. Makeup

During the first 2 months I could not wear eye liner, or any eye makeup because it would burn my eyes. If I did, it was for the hour or two that I needed to go out of the house and then I would wash my face.

Taking the time to do my makeup, even if it was less elaborate then I usually would, made me feel so much better! The temporary reminder that I am woman was needed as my body was going thru all kinds changes.

BTW, I really think that the whole pregnancy glow thing is a bunch of baloney. I would sweat so much all of the sudden that it would look like I’m constantly glowing. A lie. Not so pretty after all.

My favorite makeup look during pregnancy:

Keep it simple. That’s been my rule. I picked a set of colors in grey for the eye shadow, a bronzer and a foundation that I liked for this look and would create versions of it when I needed to. Because I would use the same color scheme it was easy to create and fast! Nude lipstick that matches every outfit and can be easily changed for a bold color for date night.

So keep it simple, and stick to what you know best for the time when you may not feel your best every day.

2. Caffeine vs Chocolate

Find your pleasure. This time my baby boy isn’t a fan of chocolate. I find it repulsive most of the time. Instead I take great pleasure in a tall decaf (or full on energize caffeinated one if its an early morning) Starbucks late! It does wonders for my soul, my heart and just my state of mind!

3. Heels

I love them. All of them. I would buy them all if I could afford them. I just love my shoes. One of my biggest fears is that I won’t be able to fit into my shoes after pregnancy, so I am taking my time wearing them now while I can.

I think you do have to be smart about it. If I know I will be on my feet for hours at an event, I will pick a more comfortable, not so tight in my toes and lower heel (3/4 in). If I know I will be sitting down most of the time, I can indulge into the 5/6 in hight and not worry about comfort as much. One of my tricks also is wearing stockings. They tend to compress the foot in a way that keeps it from sweating and expanding too much so your feet don’t get too tight after wearing them for some time.

I always, always feel more of a woman when I am in heels. There is nothing like good shoes to boost your self esteem!

I hope you find your minimum of 3 things that you can indulge in and feel like the powerful woman you are during your pregnancy! I think if you read the main message you can use the same principle for any time when you need to build up your womanhood.

On a side note, I am obsessed with wearing blue and with my curtains. Aren’t they so fabulous?

Dress is from Banana Republic and necklace is from a vintage shop I found a few years back.

It’s Official!

I am pregnant! If you follow me on Facebook and Instagram you would have seen our baby news announcement! We decided that Mother’s day was the perfect day to make it official!

If you haven’t noticed, I’m a little obsessed with our pup Marchesa and she has no idea what’s coming for her since the baby will take most of my attention!

I am now in my second trimester and I’m feeling much much better! I had a really hard time in the beginning, and that’s one of the reasons for my silence on the blog.. If you’ve been through it before, you know how hard your body works at this baby making thing, and morning sickness hit me pretty hard usually after noon and into late night.

This is the first grandchild for both of our parents and we are excited to be on this journey!

I am SO excited to be doing gender reveal next week! So make sure you check out my Gender Reveal Giveaway!!

Please comment and SUBSCRIBE to follow my pregnancy story!

I’ll be working on some tips to stay beautiful thru pregnancy changes, especially during the summer months!

We all dream of a trip to Paris don’t we? Especially since meeting my husband we have been dreaming of going together. He is fluent in French, and has been to the country almost 20 times. Yes, be jealous, I am. I knew France would be a big part of our life because of my husband’s love for the country (I’m not complaining), our mutual love for french wine, and my love for french Baroque decor.

Here are some highlights from our trip and my theory on traveling in general!

Traveling Details & Tips

We live a couple of hours away from New York, so we drove there to save money on an extra flight, it was a little crazy because we had just flown in from a week in Colorado at midnight the night before. I picked an over night flight so we got to Paris in the morning and had the entire day to explore after getting a quick nap in.

Favorite things: braids and or a hat when traveling make it easier to look chic even when you’re tired. Loose fitted shirt in case airplane makes you bloat or not feel so good. Simple makeup with bold eye liner, mascara, and a favorite lipstick. Retouch is easy when you land and you can still look glam!

On the plane: bring water, snacks that can fit into your purse – I always get hungry waiting for the plane to board, and some reading material.

My theory is to always bring the coat with me on the plane to save space in the luggage. I love my favorite oversized Burberry scarf on the plane. I often get cold and would rather have my coat in the overhead bin and get cozy with my scarf.

We flew via British airways using up some traveling points. One thing I wish we did was upgrade our seats or at least pay the extra 40 to pick our own seats, since this time we ended up all the way in the back of the plane. Lesson learned for the future.

After researching the luggage policy, we took 4 suitcases ( 2 carry ons and 2 large ones checked in). They were almost empty since I knew I’d be shopping and bringing stuff back! It really helped because we could bring wine and heavier items back and still fit into the weight limit. ** Key is to bring a travel scale, it saved us so much money and the embarrassing repacking in the terminal.

Hotel Stay

Hôtel Eiffel Trocadéro

I did a LOT of research on the hotel and where to stay, we set a budget on the hotel and since we were there for a week, it all adds up! We could not be happier with the hotel! I was there every day waking up and pinching myself!

You can find this hotel website here, or look it up on Expedia.com Link. We picked the Deluxe room with a view, and it was just unreal to wake up to the view of the Eiffel tower! And from the other window in the room we could see Arc de Triomphe.

Location was everything! We were steps away from the metro, coffee, food, the Eiffel tower, pharmacy (which we needed to visit often due to getting sick), and even some grocery story for shopping.

Here are some photos of our room, I was so in awe of our room I didn’t take pictures before we invaded with our luggage!

My tips – do the research and decide on what’s important to you – spend most of your money on that! Hotel stay with location and view was important to me, so I am very happy with the choice!

Food, food, food

I am pretty sure we ate a loaf of bread each day, baguette fresh from the bakery down the street was just about the best thing ever!

I can never go back to eating crepes in US, they now taste like pancakes in comparison to what I ate in Paris.

Experiment, have fun and try something different, I did and do not regret it! Check out my post about all my favorite food coming soon!

Coffee – if you love your extra large cup of coffee french pressed in the morning like I do, you may be disappointed. It was impossible to find a big mug of coffee first thing when you wake up! Parisians drink espresso shots like it’s water! So we did like Parisians do. Then we went home and bought an espresso machine for our home.

Experiences

My husband speaks fluent french, has many friends living in Paris, and it was actually his first time doing some of the touristy things because I wanted to, and it was his first time staying at a hotel in Paris since he always had a friend’s couch to crash on.

So we took on life in Paris for a week like we belonged there. It fit so well I wanted to stay forever! We walked the streets for hours, visited with friends, did some shopping and enjoyed some amazing views, food and deserts!

We planned to fly to London for a day super quick and unfortunately it didn’t work out. It was the middle of our trip and I woke up with a fever, sore throat and all the other pleasantries of being sick! Good thing my husband could visit the pharmacy real quick and get me some meds! I got thru the week getting him sick also, but we just embraced it and kept going out to do stuff pumped up on pain killers!

The Louvre. Amazing. Take like a day to go and hang out!Hotel de Ville

One of the fun things was finding a designer store with my name on it, and another one with my sister’s name.

Hotel de Ville. Such a beautiful building, that hosts people working for the government. There is also great shopping just around the corner from this place.

Love my hat to travel with. Saves you bad hair days. You’re welcome.

Quick tip for tourists: if you want a picture of the two of you traveling look for a stranger who is old, handicapped (and can’t run away with your camera), or part of a family group; they are then less likely to take your camera or your phone and run. Especially around these famous locations there are a lot of people who speak english, and having to ask someone to take your photo is kind of a universal language.

Thanks for checking out my favorite trip so far! Comment and give me a thumbs up!!

The images you see are from the two rooms that my husband, my two dogs and I use quite often. They’re where we watch TV (mainly The Bachelor) and just unwind.

After buying our house in October of 2014, we worked hard to transform our “fixer upper” into a home that reflected our life and style. It was important that I create a chic space for ourselves that articulated our style, while still being livable (and pet friendly).

A little about me: from a young age, I recognized how affected I was by my surroundings. The colors, the textures…. everything in my environment impacted my mood…. whether it be more at ease, up tight, soothed, etc. While I understood that there were many things outside of my control, I knew that the atmosphere around me was something that I could manipulate; and with that, my passion for decorating and redecorating was born. My sensitivity to the world around me was my driving force to enhance my living space, starting with my own bedroom as a teen and now, my house, as a wife and homemaker.

Formal Dining & Family Room:

Before:

After:

When we first bought our house, it wasn’t pretty, but we could see the potential. We needed to rip out the URINE – stained carpet (yuck) and replace it with new, vinyl flooring. This was an inexpensive alternative to new hardwood, and it turned out to match the existing hardwood in the neighboring rooms (kitchen and formal living room) quite well.

As for the color palate, I went for cool tones: gray and white, as my base and built off of that with teal. The purple/metallic chevron dining room wallpaper was a way for me to incorporate a new color into the space. The openness of the rooms allowed for pulling colors and textures between them, making it one large cohesive space.

Disclaimer: I love wallpaper. I know many people are afraid of it but, as an accent, it is my BFF. In future posts, I will reveal more rooms of the house, where you will see my love affair with wallpaper literally “unfold”. I’ve probably flipped through over 100 wallpaper books since we bought the house.

I was able to find a dining table and coffee table that each gave off a similar rustic vibe. With that, I added faux fur and metallics to add richness and interest to the room. I am such a sucker for fur throws and shiny things- – they both will stop me in my tracks. Needless to say, it’s difficult for me to make it out of Homegoods empty handed (sorry, husband!).

The Living Room

Before:

After:

I contemplated retiling the fireplace because it looked so dated, but decided to paint it white, which helped to freshen up the whole room. So easy. And I love changing the mantle décor with each season. Make it lush, and it is a great focal point for any room.

And I love changing the mantle décor with each season. Make it lush and it is a great focal point for any room.

The garland:

Adding a full drape of greenery, flowers and ribbon is an easy way to add a beautiful, seasonal touch to any room. This doesn’t have to be something you do ONLY at Christmas time! In fact, I change mine with every season. It is especially easy to do if you keep the base (the greenery) the same. Simply remove/replace the stemmed flowers, or whatever decorations you want to use. What’s great about this project is that you don’t have to limit your mantle to just flowers. Add candles, string lights, or anything else that might complement your space.

I’ve had such fun adding new layers to these rooms, and I never feel as though my work is done! With that, I look forward to revealing more rooms and new projects from my house!

Paint color: Pinch of Spice from Benjamin Moore

Dining room furniture is from Target

Coffee table from Amazon.com

All candles are battery operated from Michaels

If you enjoyed this post, and want to see more home décor ideas (and my puppies), follow me on Instagram @twitterlesstessa !

Do you ever feel like your foundation is gliding off your face 3-4 hours after applying it in the morning?

Your skin care routine and everything you do before applying your foundation is what will make a difference in how your foundation lasts all day, or doesn’t.

3.5 years ago I went through a lot of problems with my skin, I had to try SO many things and products and home remedies to get it to a healthy place that I am comfortable with. Thats when I found a product line that really worked for me, and my passion for helping women find their best skin possible was born!

–>> My skincare routine video tutorial below <<–

I used to tan, in the booth, regularly. I went from the lightest ivory shade of foundation to Beige 3/4 shades. When I stopped I had to have a reality check with my blackheads, clogged pores, extreme discoloration, dark spots, red spots, and just yucky dry feeling of my skin texture. Check out the video tutorial where I share my winter routine in the morning.

–>> Subscribe to get a full version tutorial on my night time skincare routine <<–
coming next week

List of Products I use:

Step 1: Moisturizer – I am using this moisturizer in the winter time, then switch to a different one that’s lighter for summer. This moisturizer last me 2/3 years because I only use it in the winter starting mid fall. Use this as a substitute if you don’t want extreme moisture and repair like I did – Lightweight Anti-aging Moisturizer.

Step 2: Eye Cream – Amazing! Totally necessary! The customized applicator elevates this cream to a new eye-deal of beauty. Perfectly sculpted to fit the shape of the eye, the metal tip is designed to help impact microcirculation as it gently massages the undereye area to help reduce puffiness. The other eye cream I use and mentioned – Firming eye cream, and its a great one to start with if you don’t use anything right now.

Step 5: Foundation – I am using liquid foundation during the winter time in the Luminous formula. On the warmer days I use a matte wear foundation in the same shade and the same formula but with a different finish that also controls my oils. Foundation brush.

Step 6: Finishing powder – aka Translucent powder! I often carry this one with me when I travel through airport, or even during the day when my skin gets a little oily in the afternoon. A quick brush on of the finishing powder and shine all goes away!

Did you find this tutorial helpful?

Please COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE! I’d love to hear what you think and what you want to hear more about!